Forum Financial Management LP Makes New $217,000 Investment in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,669 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,674 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 15,498 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 1.4% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 66,113 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the first quarter worth $406,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Provident Financial Services during the first quarter valued at $544,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Provident Financial Services by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,930 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

Provident Financial Services Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE PFS opened at $19.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $19.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $349.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.25 million. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 5.21%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PFS shares. StockNews.com lowered Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.67.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.